After foraging through the
forest, they reap the rewards of the hunt: fruity chanterelles, meaty
morels, sweet, buttery black trumpets and other miniature umbrellas of
flavor.

Wild mushrooms have long been a passion for Renee Roehl
and Kelly Chadwick, founders of the area's only supplier of wild, edible
fungi.

The Spokane couple has spent years researching, hunting
and cooking wild mushrooms. In the mid-90s, their expertise became known
to local chefs, who sought them out for their foraged goods. In 1998,
their shared pastime evolved into a small business now known as Mushroom
Resource.

Long considered a delicacy in Asia and Europe,
particularly in hilly regions such as Provence and the foothills of the
Alps, wild mushrooms have slowly cast off their freaky-fungus identity
among Americans. Nowadays, they're viewed as an epicurean delight and an
extraordinary treat whenever they're part of a meal.

"Mushrooms are more filling and generally more rich than a
vegetable, but they're not as heavy as meat," said Chadwick, former
president of the Spokane Mushroom Club and a renowned picker in these
parts. "They are the bridge between animals and plants and can be used
with both. … More than other foods, their flavors remind me of the earth
and tie me to the planet that I live on."

During the spring and fall, Mushroom Resource sells about
200 pounds of wholesale wild fungi a week, according to Roehl, who manages
the business. Morels are the staple during the short spring season, which
begins in May and quickly ends the following month. During the fall
season, which lasts from September through December, Mushroom Resource
offers the more common types – chanterelles, matsutakes, hedgehogs and
Porcini – as well as about two dozen other varieties. Some of the later
fall mushrooms, such as yellow feet and black trumpets, are sometimes
available through February.

When they first started, the couple sold only the
mushrooms they picked themselves to local chefs. But demand quickly grew
and the couple turned to other mushroom hunters for help. "We needed more
mushrooms than we could find," Roehl said.

Now, Roehl and Chadwick are mainly the "middle people" of
the local wild mushroom industry. They acquire mushrooms from pickers from
throughout the Northwest, British Columbia and Canada then sell the goods
to chefs and gourmet markets in town. Many of the hunters are folks who
lead a very simple lifestyle in the woods and have no desire to drive into
Spokane or other cities, Roehl explained. Selling mushrooms allows them to
maintain their way of life in the wilderness, said Roehl.

"There's a cultural gap between them and the restaurants,"
said Roehl, who's also a poet, writer, teacher and part-time counselor. "A
lot of them don't come into town. They don't have bank accounts."

In recent years, dozens of Spokane and Coeur d'Alene
restaurants have turned to Mushroom Resource for wild mushrooms. The small
business – which donates 5 percent of its profits to Crosswalk – also
sells dried mushrooms to area chefs and through Huckleberry's Natural
Market in Spokane. While prices for fresh mushrooms vary depending on
availability, dried mushrooms range in wholesale price from $26 a pound
for yellow feet to as much as $37 for black trumpets and mousserons.

Whenever chef Alexa Wilson of Wild Sage American Bistro
cooks with fresh wild mushrooms, they usually play a lead role in the
dish. They're not only delicious, she said, but they also can cost more
per pound than a New York steak.

"They have very distinct colors, flavors and textures,"
said Wilson, who has incorporated wild mushrooms into her cooking for the
past 20 years.

Her favorites include Oregon chanterelles, which she likes
to sauté in brown butter, and the deep orange lobster mushrooms, which she
often grills and serves on sea bass. When wild mushrooms aren't available,
she uses dried mushroom mix as a flavor enhancer for dishes such as potato
gnocchi and oxtail ragoût.

Wild mushrooms – which she considers superior to the
cultivated varieties sold at most grocery stores – also fit with her
philosophy of focusing on seasonal, fresh produce, said Wilson, who gets
her supply from Mushroom Resource.

Despite the fear in this country surrounding wild fungi,
the risk is relatively low to those who study mushrooms diligently and
remain careful, according to Chadwick and Roehl. Mushroom Resource buys
only from experienced pickers, assured Chadwick. He and Roehl also screen
every mushroom they sell.

Because mushrooms contain natural toxins, they should
never be eaten raw, Roehl advised.

Roehl, 53, first felt an affinity for mushrooms about
three decades ago, when an interest in medicinal plants led her to study
fungi and their potential benefits to the immune system.

For Chadwick, mushrooms have been an obsession since his
first chanterelle hunt at the age of 5. The 33-year-old still has vivid
memories of that day when family friends took him foraging behind their
house in Inverness, Calif., and the spectacular meal of mushrooms they
later ate for dinner. Since then, fungi became part of his being. While
his childhood friends would get ice cream bars at the grocery store,
Chadwick headed straight for the mushrooms in the produce department. When
he was 16, Chadwick got a chance to go mushroom hunting with Dr. Andrew
Weil, the noted American author, physician and pioneer of integrative
medicine. The experience inspired him to delve even deeper into the study
of fungi.

These days, Chadwick earns a living as the fine wine
manager for the Odom Corp., but he still helps Roehl run the business
while also offering occasional classes on gathering wild mushrooms.
Although he's not an official mycologist, many in the local mushroom
community consider him an expert in his own right.

Like connoisseurs of fine wine, Chadwick, Roehl and other
wild mushroom aficionados are keen on a fungus' flavor and aroma.

Chanterelles, which come in a variety of colors from
yellow and orange to white and even black, are noted for their soft flesh
and a fragrance that's been described as fruity or apricot-like.

Truffles, a highly-prized and rare mushroom that grows
underground near the roots of trees, smells like "a slice of heaven …
sensual and musky, chocolate and earthy," according to a writer on
FungalJungal.org, the official Web site of the Western Montana Mycological
Association.

And morels, perhaps the best known type of wild mushroom,
are so exquisite that the Web site www.thegreatmorel.com likens its
delicacy to Beluga caviar.

"Wild mushrooms are an acquired taste," acknowledged Roehl.
"People either love them or hate them."